Lab-on-chips usher in an era of shrinking labs

He further added that, "Along the channels, there are minute amounts of reagents which will react with the sample and, through fluorescence-based detection, give us results. It is a platform, which can very rapidly, within 30 minutes, be used for an array of tests and has a very high sensitivity." Hoping to release it in the market soon, Dr Dendukuri says the first product based on this will detect different levels of hormones involved in female infertility.

Lab-on-Chip works on point-of-care approach and is making easier to cut down the cost and human error. Dr Dendukuri believes that microfluidics and lab-on-chip is a field with tremendous growth potential and is enabling miniaturization of lab testing.

Frost and Sullivan notes that lab-on-chip market is a fast growing segment of the global biochip market as its wide applications have led to increased adoption in pharmaceutical, biotechnology companies, and other research laboratories. Furthermore, these chips are not limited to human applications but are very suitable for a variety of veterinary needs, food safety, and environmental testing in industrial as well as remote areas.